Some people around me have asked for a ✨ good smartphone under a limited budget ✨. I gave out a few options despite thinking that the words “good” and “budget” don’t blend well — at least in the smartphone space. I always say they have to deal with the compromises that come with “affordable” price tags.
The notion among budget smartphones is that, you pay less, you get less. But as technology progresses every year, brands like TECNO have made it to a point where they can bring a smartphone to the masses that doesn’t compromise features exclusive to midrangers and flagships.
But can the newer TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ live up to its promises of being a great value for money smartphone in the limited budget segment? Scroll through to know all of my thoughts in this 14-day review.
Start the spark
Before we dive into the actual review itself, here’s a quick unboxing for those who want to see the phone’s retail packaging.
@gadgetmatch Meet the new TECNO Spark 20 Pro+ ✌️Tecno
tecnospark20series
tecnospark20proplus
tecnospark ♬ original sound – GadgetMatch
Fantastic classic
I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of the design of most budget smartphones. They’re usually flashy and just not built well. But the SPARK 20 Pro+ begs to differ.
The Magic Green Skin 2.0 colorway I have features a glossy matte leather texture. It’s 100% eco-friendly and non-harmful to the environment.
As shown in the quick unboxing, a clear case is in the package. But because of this exclusive material, I opted not to use it — and my decision is right as the texture complements my palms well.
The SPARK 20 Pro+ is surprisingly thin at exactly 7.55mm. It’s also very lightweight. If I must pinpoint, I barely felt the heft of this phone when I hold it or put it in my pocket.
The circular ring camera design may be preferential, but I honestly like how it exudes radiance and elegance. I’d rather have this than the design of SPARK 20 and 20 Pro that clearly reminds us of something else 👀
Flipping the phone reveals its wondrous curved display with an even thinner middle frame with a golden angle double curve 56.5-degree curvature that makes it so comfortable to hold even if it’s a large slab.
Just don’t expect anything monumental. This is obviously a frame made out of plastic. And just like most Android smartphones, both the power and volume buttons are on the right side.
On its punch hole cutout is where the 32-megapixel selfie camera hides. Notice though how thin the bezels are for a “budget” smartphone?
Lastly, there’s a dual SIM card slot, microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grilles at its bottom.
And before I forget. It has an in-display fingerprint sensor too that feels snappy. Again, a feature used to be exclusive at least on just midrangers as budget smartphones tend to rely on side-mounted scanner.
Lastly, it has an IP53 water and dust resistance rating out of the box. Some modern midrangers don’t feature any IP rating at all.
Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch
Aside from the stunningly classic [and very mouthful] color that I rock, the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ is available in several other color choices including Temporal Orbits, Lunar Frost, and Radiant Starstream.
Pure allure
Most Chinese brands exclusively dedicate curved displays to flagship phones. Well, TECNO has destroyed that barrier with the incorporation of a curved display in such a low-cost smartphone.
One of the highlights of the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ that sets it apart from its other siblings is the inclusion of a 6.78-inch AMOLED Full HD+ display with a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The SPARK 20 and SPARK 20 Pro are both equipped with IPS LCD displays, ICYMI.
Another thing worth noting? It actually has stereo speakers by DTS!
It’s nothing grand with its fair share of lows, mids, and highs. But again for its price, it’s loud enough to fill the entertainment void within you.
Winter Without You is already sad… Winter Without XG will even be sadder
TECNO promises 1000 nits of peak brightness but I’m quite convinced that it’s reserved for HDR content. Though using it under direct sunlight showed minimal glaring and dimming.
NMIXX’s signature “CHANGE UP” line is a perfect way to describe how brands need to step up and change up their budget smartphone line like how TECNO did
But then again, it’s an excellent display for its price. The whites are pearly white…
Getting DRAMAtic over aespa Ningning’s superiority
… and expect an exceptional level of contrast, saturation, and blacks.
Moreover, its Full HD+ resolution gives plenty of details when watching on Netflix, Disney+, and more.
Speaking of, one minor issue on my end is that Netflix isn’t compatible with the device when you search on Google Play. Luckily, Android doesn’t have too much restrictions as I was able to install an APK from a third-party source.
Another drawback that shouldn’t be a big of a deal but still be wary of is the fact that it can play YouTube [or any other streaming site] video only up to 2K/QHD 1440p and not 4K/UHD 2160p. That’s mainly due to its chipset limitations.
Modesty at its core
While we’re already on the topic, the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ is powered by a MediaTek G99 Ultimate processor. Its non-plus Pro sibling only runs through Helio G99.
Finally! A SISTAR19 comeback after 11 long years
For socials such as Facebook…
Instagram Reels…
X [formerly Twitter]…
and TikTok, it should perform fast and snappy.
I know what you’re thinking, why not instead ship this phone with a 5G Dimensity chipset instead of compromising it for a “slower” 4G+ Helio processor. I think that’s what sets the SPARK line apart from the gaming-dedicated POVA series.
Fret not! Most of the top-charting games still run decently with its Mali-G57 MC2 GPU.
Whether that’s Asphalt 9: Legends…
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang…
Call of Duty: Mobile [CoDM]…
or even driving a passenger bus in Bus Simulator: Ultimate…
You just have to lower down the graphics [and your expectations] as we’re using a budget smartphone with a modest gaming performance. But maybe the Performance Mode can help ease that hindrance.
But for the demanding ones like Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact…
expect a sluggish performance especially when these are graphics-intensive titles.
BONUS: playing Subway Surfers was a breeze 🤣
Power-packed
Multitasking isn’t a slouch as the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ runs with an 8GB of internal memory [RAM].
Together with TECNO’s MemFusion Technology, it expands the total configuration by up to 16GB with the unused storage capacity being used to further allocate more apps running in the background.
Speaking of storage, you will not feel short with its ample 256GB of onboard storage capacity.
On paper, the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ packs a powerful 5000mAh battery.
Paired with a power-efficient display and chipset, I was able to last more than a day using this phone for the most typical social media and entertainment usage.
Of course, expect a major battery depletion when you play games.
If it runs out of juice, there’s a bundled 33W Super Charge adapter.
Even though it’s not, in any way, the fastest charging protocol that currently exists, it still gets the job done in about over an hour.
Start time = 11:21PM
- 5 minutes = 15%
- 10 minutes = 20%
- 15 minutes = 30%
- 20 minutes = 41%
- 30 minutes = 49%
- 40 minutes = 62%
- 45 minutes = 69%
- 50 minutes = 75%
- 55 minutes = 84%
- 1 hour = 88%
- 1 hour 10 minutes = 94%
- 1 hour 15 minutes = 96%
- 1 hour 24 minutes = 100%
End time = 12:45AM
Nifty tricks
The SPARK 20 Pro+ runs through TECNO’s HiOS v13.6.0 based on Android 14.
Much like other brands, TECNO has joined the wagon in equipping an iPhone-like pill into its punch-hole cutout to display certain features. Called “Dynamic Port”, this software trick up in TECNO’s sleeves displays certain immersive notifications…
such as battery charging prompts…
as well as Face Unlock animation.
There are other extras such as receiving calls and low battery warning — but that’s pretty much about it.
Capable camera
Back in the day, having a 108-megapixel camera was limited to just flagship and high-end midrange smartphones. Who would have thought that we will reach this point in time where a budget smartphone can also rock a 108-megapixel sensor?
To be very precise, this phone only rocks a single 1/1.67-inch 108-megapixel camera sensor with an f/1.75 aperture and 6P lens.
The other two are just extra sensors: 2-megapixel DoF [Depth of Field] lens and an optical camera. The one at the farther bottom right is just there for aesthetic purposes to complete the “Quadrant Star Array” camera design. The dual flash is placed outside the ring.
But then again, the fruit is in the actual pudding. Here are photos I took with the SPARK 20 Pro+ during my 14 days with it.
I wouldn’t be too nitpicky with its camera performance. Overall, it displays the right amount of exposure, contrast, and sharpness without being too overboard with saturation.
Also, HDR seems decent enough for the category it belongs to.
With its large sensor, it also supports up to 3x “in-sensor” zoom and up to 10x digital zoom.
1x wide | 3x in-sensor zoom
It’s expected to be a hit or miss situation especially when it just relies with its main sensor for zooming in.
As long as you stay still when capturing anything, it will result into a nice output since there is no OIS baked into the sensor anyway. Capturing anything farther than 3x doesn’t make sense.
Still, in my own creative perspective, 3x zoom is valuable for shooting anything related to food and architecture.
There’s also the Super Night Mode based on TECNO’s 9-in-1 Adaptive Pixel Technology. In easier-to-understand terms, it fuses 9 small pixels into one ultra-large pixel and improves light sensitivity by 900%.
To finish off the dessert, there’s the front-facing 32-megapixel camera — also with dual flash.
I have decided to completely turn off the portrait beauty filters. I’ll let your selfie expertise decide whether or not the SPARK 20 Pro+ takes good selfies.
And just to add, it’s actually a super wide-angle selfie camera with an 88.9-degree FoV [Field of View] — so you can zoom out and bring more people [or maybe partner, if s/he exists in your life 🥲] into the frame.
Is this your BudgetMatch?
Pricing in most countries have yet to be announced. The SPARK 20 Pro+ is expected to be broadly available across key regions including Africa, Latin America, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. One representative from TECNO also stated that the SPARK 20 Pro+ is priced around US$ 180.
That roughly converts to just under the PhP 10K / EUR 185 / GBP 142 / SG$ 240 / INR 14,697 mark. Its price alone makes it an A+ contender in the budget smartphone segment.
For what its worth, TECNO has delivered some [if not most] features in a smartphone that we only used to see in pricey, high-end models. It has a sleek and light design, a buttery-smooth AMOLED display, loud-enough stereo speakers, and a capable 108-megapixel shooter.
Sure, there are some compromises such as the lack of an ultra-wide lens or a more powerful chipset dedicated for 5G and gaming, but this phone clearly offers more than what other brands do in the same price range.
Without any frills, I consider the TECNO SPARK 20 Pro+ a great budget smartphone worthy of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.